Eye Care
Professionals
Getting your eyes and your glasses checked can be a
fairly simple procedure or a very complicated one, depending on the
problem and on who's doing the checking. Routine eye examinations
can be performed by ophthalmologists and by optometrists, and parts
of routine eye exams can be done by technicians who may or may not
have a specific degree or certification. Let's take a moment to
define and discuss the different types of eye care professionals.
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Ophthalmologists: An ophthalmologist is a
medical doctor, a graduate of an accredited medical school
with an M.D. degree. This means that you can expect him to
have a pretty good understanding of the illnesses that can
befall the rest of your body, and the ramifications of such
ailments (diabetes, for instance) for your eyesight.
Ophthalmologists can also be doctors of osteopathic medicine
(D.O.). In addition, a board-certified ophthalmologist must
have completed at least three years of residency training
beyond the M.D. degree and passed extensive written and oral
examinations in diseases and surgery of the eye.
Many ophthalmologists provide total eye care, beginning with
the comprehensive medical eye examination. They prescribe
glasses and contact lenses, diagnose eye diseases and
disorders, and perform the appropriate medical, surgical,
and laser procedures necessary to treat them. |
Other ophthalmologists perform eye exams and
diagnose and treat diseases of the eye but limit themselves to a
fairly narrow range of surgical procedures, referring patients
needing different procedures to other ophthalmic subspecialists.
And some subspecialists (doctors who concentrate on treating
specific diseases and performing certain procedures) do not
perform routine eye exams at all.
Similar to many other branches of medicine, ophthalmology has
become increasingly sub-specialized over the last twenty years.
Although some policymakers are fond of making the blanket
statement that "there are just too many specialists," the
undisputed fact is that anyone who needs a surgical procedure
wants the operation to be done by a surgeon who has performed
that very same procedure, someone who does it every day, or at
least several times a week, someone who is deeply familiar with
every detail of the operation, and with every expertise of that
particular body part, rather than by a generalist whose job is
to know a little bit about everything and who might have done
that procedure only a few times before.
This means that if and when you need a surgical procedure,
consider getting a second opinion, and find the best, most
experienced physician you can to perform it. Think about it:
it's your precious vision at stake here, and your one chance to
get the job done right. It's also true that most surgeons want
to do only the operations that they do really well.
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Optometrists: An optometrist is someone who
has earned a doctor of optometry (O.D.) degree after
completing four years of post-graduate-level optometry
school, following a four-year undergraduate college degree.
Optometry school covers the structure and function of the
eye, mechanisms of vision and optics, and the diagnosis and
treatment of eye disease. Some optometry schools have even
developed collaborative arrangements with medical schools to
give optometry students the opportunity to develop a better
understanding of how the eye relates to the human body and
its overall condition.
Optometrists traditionally limited their scope of practice
to non-medical treatment of eye problems. This included
prescribing glasses and contact lenses to improve the
quality of vision and the use of vision therapy to improve
the overall functioning of the visual system. |
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Optometrists were taught how to diagnose eye diseases and look for
signs of associated systemic (whole body) diseases so that the
patient could be referred to the appropriate physician. Currently,
however, many optometrists are learning how and being licensed to
treat non-complicated eye disease and how to manage surgery patients
along with ophthalmologists.
Opticians: An optician is an eye care professional that is licensed
to fit, adjust, and dispense eyeglasses and other optical devices
following the written prescription of an ophthalmologist or
optometrist. In some states opticians can also fit and dispense
contact lenses.
Most eye care professionals agree that each of these specialists has
a separate yet complementary role in eye care, and in the future,
you're likely to see these three groups working more closely
together. This will allow for a more comprehensive approach to eye
care, one that can also be cost-efficient for patients and their
insurance companies, as well as for eye care providers. |
